The Hands of Time
by WhiteHouses
Summary: James and Lily are falling in love in rough times during their seventh year at Hogwarts. Remus and Sirius must come to terms with what happened during sixth year and desperately try to regain trust in the other. Just give this a chance. Review. Please.
1. The Journey ::

PROLOGUE

_**The Journey**_

_Two cultures and a thousand miles from you, there is a castle on a hill. In front of it lays a glistening lake and a field with six giant towers protruding out of the ground. It is a place where things float, shatter, and repair themselves, where the swish of stick rules the hearts of the students and staff, where pictures drink and lie, and some animals are only visible to those who have seen the worst of life._

_This castle suffered greatly this year. A woman intent on its destruction displaced its beloved headmaster and stripped it of hope and happiness. Save a pair identical twins, this place was void of laughter, but it was not always so. Little more than twenty-seven years ago the castle withstood four friends whose laughter shook the thousand year-old building. Little more than twenty-seven years ago one brilliant girl ran wild in these halls with a a great energy that few but herself understood, and these children's lives were blanketed in the happiness that came to be taken from these hollowed grounds. Living in a dangerous time, stuck between destruction and happiness, on the verge of a terrible new era._

_If you wanted to see what that was like back then, the journey would take you across the insurmountable barrier of Time, through a concrete post, onto a legendary train, and then make you wait out the ride in a small, old-fashioned compartment. After all of that, you would still have to get into a horseless carriage and ride up to a castle that appears to most to be nothing more than rubble. Once there, you would open entrance doors the size of your house. Taking a step across the threshold, the sheer size and nature of the building would strike you dumb: the large, dark, silent halls; the cold stone floor; the old, worn, and distant walls._

_Even inside the castle, finding the children would be nearly impossible. The boys sit in a room that can only be reached by traversing seven flights of moving stairs (one of which is invisible), crossing four passages over (two of which are so well hidden that the caretaker does not know of them), and walking to the end of a dusty, seemingly-unused corridor. In a corner so dark that it must be unnatural, there is a door that you would overlook if I had not mentioned it. Behind that door, the four boys you seek are sitting on the floor: three reading books too large to lift without the aid of magic and the fourth pacing. In two minutes, despite having found the answer they seek in that tome, one performs the spell incorrectly and is left with a hoof as an arm for an hour. Three boys willing to go to any extent to help their friend in need._

_The girl is even more challenging to discover because she would never be found in the same room, corridor, or even floor if she could help it. Her wandering spirit not content until she is the master of her surroundings._

_Now you may have assumed that the boys are studious to a fault (studying Transfiguration well into the night) and stupid (performing the spell incorrectly), while the girl is in the middle of a great row that left them fuming around the castle. Though these assumptions would not be illogical, they are incorrect. The boys are learning a spell both illegal and highly deserving of that position with the law, which is why it is necessary to learn in the privacy of the night in an unnoticeable room. The girl is trying to run from emotions that are easier felt than shown._

_--_

_So here, at 3:13 in the morning, you would finally find those whom you came so far to understand. You would travel across years and oceans, history and commonsense to find these eight people because you have met the next generation and believe you need to know their history. You would look for the truth about Harry Potter, but I warn you that it is not what you expect; it is only how it was on April 17th, 1973, right after a hard rain had fallen on what looks to most to be a pile of ruins, in the third year of Voldemort's Rising, when those whose destinies would lead into myth and legend had no greater aspirations than to learn how to change into an animal and win a battle against one's own heart and the ever looming sorrow of losing a pare__nt._


	2. Bittersweet Irony ::

**Bittersweet Irony 1**

September 1st had finally arrived, and none too soon for Lily

September 1st had finally arrived, and none too soon for Lily. The summer hadn't been in the least bit fun. She had, unfortunately, elected to spend July and August with her sister, Petunia, to help her sort through the last of their mother's worldly possessions before they sent what was left to charity.

Friends had tried to convince her to let Petunia do it by herself, but Lily knew that Petunia had a bad case of sibling rivalry where Lily was concerned, and Lily wanted to make sure she received what she wanted from her mother's effects. On top of that, it seemed Petunia had found herself a boyfriend, one Vernon Dursley.

Finally, everything had got the best of Lily, and she had snapped, ridiculing her sister for putting her through so many weeks of torment. The resulting row had been spectacular, because Petunia had dropped all pretense of caring about what the neighbors thought, and had yelled right back. Vernon had been so unnerved by the whole fiasco that he had stayed upstairs in the room he had claimed for his own the entire time the sisters had been shouting at each other.

Lily shook her head firmly and checked her things one last time. She was certain she had everything. Her seventh year was to be an important one, she was sure, and she didn't want to leave anything behind that might compromise it being one of the most wonderful she had ever had. Her mother had wanted her to live life fully, and that was exactly what she intended to do: live life fully as a witch, find a job in the magical community, and never have to see her sister again, unless it was her own personal choice.

Now, standing in her favorite place in the world, Platform 9 ¾ , she grinned. She was ready to begin her seventh year. She was ready for Hogwarts.

In her hands, she held the letter informing her of her Head Girl status. She hadn't really imagined that she'd get the position, but it was hers, and she intended to make the best of it. Being a prefect had been a lot of responsibility, and she knew Head Girl would be even more, but it convinced her that Dumbledore still had confidence in her, and she was determined to make sure she earned that confidence.

Of course, she was dying to know who had been made Head Boy, but the letter hadn't said anything about that. She assumed it would be Remus Lupin, the Gryffindor prefect from last year. They would work well together.

The Hogwarts Express's whistle sounded once again, and she took a deep breath, turning to her sister who was standing silently behind her with her arms crossed.

Kindness and an overwhelming sense of concern washed over Lily then. This might be the last time she saw her sister, if the rumors of a Dark Lord with a passion for hating Muggle-borns were true.

"Petunia, I…" her voice trailed off a little as her sister turned her sharp eyes on Lily. "I just wanted to say thanks, and, well… take care of yourself."

Petunia nodded, and then slowly opened her arms up. Lily took the two steps necessary and enveloped her sister with a hug. No matter what her prejudices were, Petunia was still her sister.

"Be careful, Lily."

"I will."

Quickly, she lifted her trunk up and grabbed her bags. Suddenly, someone was lifting the extra burdens from her shoulders. She turned, and stared, astonished, at Remus Lupin.

"Do you mind if I help you with these?" he asked in his reassuring, quiet voice.

Swallowing hard, as the young man's unrelenting stare was a little unnerving, Lily nodded. "Thank you, Remus."

The other Gryffindor prefect had always been more than polite to her, but as always, a little distant. He didn't let anyone get too close to him, except for James's friends. He had a way of looking at people that made it seem like he was drilling into their soul and taking them apart. There was one thing that most people could say with certainty about Remus Lupin. He was an excellent judge of character.

"How are you feeling?"

That question threw Lily for a moment, and she looked over at him quickly, as if trying to decide what he really meant.

"A little bit better, actually," she said, and sighed. "Going through Mum's things, that helped, you know? I told myself I was ready for her to go. It's been coming for such a long time, and realistically, we knew she couldn't last much past Christmas, but…"

"Losing someone is always hard," Remus said and took a step onto the train. "Would you like to sit with us? I imagine you could sit up in the prefect compartment, but…"

"They're all stuffy gits who are insufferable half the time," Lily finished and laughed at the look of surprise on Remus's face. "Oh, I think so too. Believe me. And they've made Nottham a prefect this year, as well. I don't think I can take a train ride to Hogwarts with him in the same compartment."

Remus nodded, and a slow smile crossed his face. "I think that's asking a bit much of anyone, really. Will you come sit with us? The blokes would be more than happy to have you."

By 'the blokes', he meant James, Sirius and Peter, she knew. Rarely did the four of them go anywhere without the other. They were each other's best friends, and really, brothers.

Last year, up until the very end, Lily had been convinced that James Potter would never change. He would always be the arrogant boy that showed off to receive attention from professors and classmates… and then, he'd cheered her up on a rainy day. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

"Well, I suppose I will. If I have your word of honor that nothing will be done to me on purpose whilst we're in the train."

Remus gave a look of mock hurt in her direction. "Whatever makes you think that you'd be in any danger in a car with us?"

Lily burst into laughter, and the sound of it echoed through the train. "I think that anyone in their right mind would be just a little bit suspicious to be invited to sit in a train with the infamous Marauders. Don't think I don't think you're not up to something."

Remus looked confused at the last sentence, but then shrugged. "You have my word, Lily. No pranking on the train. I swear it."

She nodded. "That's good enough for me."

With flair, he opened the door of the compartment for her, and she noted that Peter and Sirius were there, but James had not arrived yet. To catch their attention, Remus said, "Look who I've found!"

Sirius stood up immediately and his face broke into a grin. It was common knowledge in Gryffindor that he had run away and had spent all summer with the Potters. However, he still seemed his usual, exuberant self.

"Lily Evans! Love of my life! Apple of my eye! Who needs Hogwarts? Say you'll run away with me, Lily. I'll be the man you've been dreaming of!"

"Sirius Black!" Lily tossed back, and smiled, throwing the prankster off for just a minute. "I'd love to run away with you, darling, but I just don't think you can afford it."

Stunned, Sirius sat there for a moment before he burst into laughter. "I didn't think material possessions mattered all that much to you, Lilsipoo."

Lily winced and sat down with a sigh next to Peter. "Hello, Peter."

He looked startled that she would even talk to him and managed to whisper "Hi" before here looked away from her and out the window.

An awkward kind of silence settled over them then, like they were waiting for

something… or someone. Lily found herself studying Remus and Sirius, who were sitting next to each other, but didn't look too happy about it. Something had definitely happened here. Normally they never stopped talking. Well, normally Sirius never stopped talking.

"Thanks for saving me a spot there, Mo…" The door to the compartment had opened, and in the doorway stood James Potter. Lily noticed that his hair was still mussy, but he'd somehow managed to grow again over the summer. He was taller and… oh yes, broader.

Being attracted on a physical level to James Potter was nothing new for Lily. She just wished that she could get used to it. A warm blush was spreading all over her face now, and she silently cursed her red hair for making it so obvious to everyone in the compartment.

"Hello James," she finally managed.

A smile, no, not just a smile, a grin, took over his entire face when she spoke to him. She had always admired the way he never smiled with just his mouth… when he smiled, even his eyes laughed along with him.

"Come in, you great prat, you're letting a draft in," Sirius said, and scooted over so that

James could sit on their side.

"Hello to you too, Sirius," James said, and the greeting was accompanied by a swift punch to Sirius's left shoulder. "Hello, Lily," he said after a moment.

"What'd you do this summer, Remus?" Sirius asked.

"You know what I did all summer, Sirius, you daft prat," Remus said casually. "Just because Lily's in the car with us doesn't mean we can't carry on as usual. In fact, she's here for a reason."

James looked up sharply and caught Remus's eye. Slowly, though, he began to relax. "I suppose we could use a witch of her considerable talent."

"Thank you," Lily interjected, "but I would like to know what I'm helping you with before I agree to lend you my services."

The boys all looked at each other and again, a silence settled in the car. "Oh, Merlin. You didn't expect me not to ask, did you?"

"We were kind of hoping you wouldn't," Sirius admitted, "but that didn't seem very likely."

"She's the only one in the school who could possibly fix the problem," Remus said. "I'm good, but I'm nowhere near as good as Lily is."

"I don't have an opinion," Peter said, his mouth still close to the window he'd been looking out of for the entire time.

"We know," James, Sirius and Remus said at the same time. Lily couldn't help but laugh.

With a jerk and a hiss, the Hogwarts Express took off from the station.

"Finally," Lily said on a breath. "I wonder what was taking so long."

"They were searching the train," James said casually. "Things have got really bad this summer, Lily."

Her eyes met his and something passed between them that neither one understood.

"How bad? What do you mean? I mean, I tried to read the paper this summer, but what with the packing and dealing with Petunia and everything else that was going on… I just didn't get the chance to really understand, I guess."

"Lord Voldemort's been on a killing streak for the past few weeks. He's gone after some Muggle families, and notoriously Muggle-friendly ones, too. The Prewitts are gone."

"Oh, no," Lily moaned. "How… how awful."

"Yeah."

James bent his head, and when it came up again, he had a sort of forced smile on his face. "How was your summer, Lily?"

"I spent the entire summer trying to keep my sister from stealing all of my mother's things out from underneath of my nose!" Lily announced, and Sirius and Remus sat up a little straighter.

"This sounds like a good story," James said.

"Oh, it is," Lily quickly became animated as she shared stories of Petunia's not-so-intelligent attempts at taking some of their mother's more valuable things. Pretty soon, she had all of the boys rolling around laughing.

"A vase? Under her shirt?" Peter shrieked with laughter.

"I can't, I can't… I just can't believe it!" Remus struggled hard to breath.

"Then she had the nerve to tell me she was pregnant, of all things!" Lily's voice was hard to understand through her laughter, but the boys got it, and laughed even harder.

After a while, James stopped listening to the story and began to listen to the sounds of the train. Something wasn't right.

"Hold it," James announced suddenly, and his tone was humorless that everyone stopped immediately. "There's something not right here. Do you hear it?"

Sirius got a peculiar look on his face, and Lily could have sworn she saw his ears prick up. Remus drew his eyebrows together and Peter sat perfectly still.

"It's a whine," Lily muttered. "I've never heard that before. It doesn't sound good."

"No," James muttered grimly. "No, it doesn't."

REVIEW PLEASE...IT WILL TAKE 15 SECONDS.


	3. Sounds on a Train ::

Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The whining sound, it turned out, was the least of their problems. Remus, for some reason, was having the hardest time dealing with it, pressing his hands over his ears and sinking low into the seat, as though he was trying to find a way to avoid it.

"We should move," James said, standing up quickly. "We need to find out if this is just happening in our compartment, or if it's audible all over the train."

Sirius agreed quickly, and Peter stood as he did. Lily, however, was concerned. "I don't know if Remus will be able to move."

Looking up from where he'd slid, Remus winced as he took his hands over his ears. "Just go stop it. Please."

James nodded. "It'll be all right soon enough, mate. Sirius, Peter, you head down to the end of the train. Ev – er, Lily and I will head towards the front and the prefects' car, all right?"

"Sounds good to me, James. Come on, Peter, let's go." Sirius immediately pushed

the car door open and headed out, but not before he sent a wink James's direction.

"James, you can't be in the prefects' car," Lily protested, as she followed James out of the compartment, anyway. "That's only for the prefects and…"

"The Head Boy and Girl. Yes, I'm well aware of the rules," James shot back, as he started to pick up the pace. "I don't know about you, but this sound is making me nervous… edgy, almost."

"It's not even a mechanical-sounding whine," Lily said. "I mean, it doesn't sound like the motor's breaking down or anything."

"The Hogwarts Express doesn't use a motor," James informed her, as they opened up the door to the prefects' car.

"James! Lily!" A boy in his fifth year stood up quickly. "We've been wondering if we shouldn't go and find you. That noise is getting louder by the second."

James nodded. "We thought it might have been just in our car, so we came down here to see if you blokes were hearing it too."

"We're hearing it, all right," Miranda Blake, a fellow seventh year from Ravenclaw said. "It's driving me absolutely crazy."

"Maybe we ought to go up to the first car, whatever they call that," Lily suggested, "and see if there's something we can do."

"Right then," James agreed. "We'll see you lot when we get back."

"James?" Lily asked, as a thought occurred to her. "Why… I mean… who's Head Boy this year?"

James raised his eyebrows and then searched her face with his eyes, as though he couldn't believe she was asking the question. "You mean it wasn't in your letter?"

"No, it wasn't," Lily snapped. "If it was, I wouldn't be asking, would I?"

James let out a startled laugh. "And here I'd thought you had mellowed," he marveled to himself.

"Well?"

"I'm Head Boy, Lily."

She couldn't help herself. Logically, she'd understood that was the case when they'd both entered the prefects' car, but that didn't mean she'd really grasped the whole of the situation until just then. She cursed.

"What did you just say?" James asked, a little shocked.

Graciously, Lily repeated the word for him, and then moved around him to open the door of the engineer's compartment.

A grump-looking older man turned around in his seat and looked at them through thick, black-rimmed glasses. "What do you want?"

"We wanted to find out about the noise that everyone's hearing," James said instantly, not giving Lily a chance to talk. "Is there a problem with the train?"

Suddenly, the train began to rock and came to a grinding, jarring stop. "I would say there is now," the engineer said a little breathlessly. "Dumbledore. I need to call Dumbledore."

"What do you think it is?" Lily asked, following on the engineer's heels as he walked to another part of the compartment.

"I think we're under attack, that's what I think. The only way this train could be making that particular sound was if someone was trying to get past the wards – and got pretty bloody close to doing so."

"Is there anything we can do?" James asked.

"We need a way to make sure whoever's doing this stays back – way back," the engineer said instantly. "Leastwise until Dumbledore can get here."

"Like a temporary Warding Charm?" Lily said.

"That would be perfect, but there's no one on board here that can do that, surely…" the engineer began, but didn't get to finish, as James and Lily were already headed out the door.

"I can cast it," Lily began, "but I've got to get outside the train so I can hit it all, and we'd better do it fast. The way this train is moving, our attackers are getting closer."

"I know a way to get to the outside of the train," James said.

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"Because I'm brilliant, that's why. Come on!"

James led her past several compartments until he came to a red ladder. Lily had never really cared for heights, or ladders, but she didn't have a lot of choice in the matter.

"Up here?" she asked tentatively, just to be on the safe side.

"Yes, up here. I'll be behind you all the way, Lily, I promise. If you fall, you'll take me down with you."

On an unexpected laugh, Lily climbed up the ladder and began her mantra of "it's not so bad" to get herself through it. When she reached the top of the ladder, she found there was a door.

"Turn the handle counterclockwise and push down," James instructed from behind her. "Be careful to turn it the right way, though. If you turn it clockwise, you get hit with a nasty curse in very private areas."

"I'm not even going to ask," Lily muttered, and followed James's instructions to the letter. She was immediately greeted by very strong winds. "James!"

"Pull yourself up there and sit down," James said, "and then cast a Sticking Charm on the soles of your feet. You won't be going anywhere."

Lily nodded. "Okay. That sounds easy enough."

James laughed at her, but it wasn't a mean sort of laugh. "Yes, it's pretty easy."

"Be quiet," Lily shouted down to him as she focused on getting herself onto the ledge of the train without falling. "I don't go around trying to kill myself every two weeks or so, so this is a new experience for me. Unlike you."

"Why, Lily, I'm honored that you noticed."

Lily let out an exasperated sigh. "You're insufferable. You know that, right?"

James shrugged. "I've been told so a time or two. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Lily said determinedly.

"Right then. Stand up and get out of the way so that I can get up there with you."

"James!" Lily hissed again. "I can see them."

"Who?"

"Them. Our attackers, you know?"

"Oh… Well, I'm kind of concentrating really hard at the moment. I'm also fairly sure the wards will hold for another few minutes. Dumbledore's really brilliant at this sort of thing."

"Will the wards block the Killing Curse?" Lily asked.

"No, but if it comes to that, we'll work something out. You need to cast the Charm so that nobody gets hurt, all right? Don't think about anything else other than that."

Lily nodded. "Right. I can do that."

With the ease born of a lifetime of Quidditch, James pushed himself up and was soon standing on top of the train next to Lily. "Let's get to business, then."

"All right. Can you cast the Shield Charm?" At James's nod, Lily continued, "Good. Then you'd better cast it around both of us. I'm going to be very vulnerable to attack whilst I'm casting the Ward."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of this," James began.

"Too late now. I've made my decision. Besides, it won't take me that long." Lily turned and smiled at James, and he knew he was done for.

Without another word, Lily moved over close to him, and James cast the first Shield Charm.

It took a moment for Lily to get her bearings and concentrate standing next to James, but she soon found it was more of a help than a hindrance. Around him she felt safer than she did most other places outside Hogwarts. After all, he was a brilliant student, and even better yet, he could apply what he learned in the classroom outside of it.

Meanwhile, James kept scanning his surroundings, noting with some degree of panic that the numbers of cloaked figures surrounding the train were growing every minute. Come on, Lily… he thought, as he struggled to maintain his concentration on the shield.

"Impedetra!" Lily shouted, and the train was rocked with a different kind of light. A yellow flower enveloped its entirety.

Immediately, the cloaked figures started swarming to a central location. They all looked up at the two figures standing on top of the train.

"Let's go, Lily. They've spotted us, and I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."

Lily looked up, a little shocked at the results of her effort. "I didn't know I could… I mean, I knew I could…"

"Lily!" James shouted. "Let's go. Pretty soon they're going to be taking shots at us individually. I don't care if you've got the best damn wards in all of Britannia! That makes me bloody nervous!"

As the first curse hit the wards, Lily panicked too. "It's makes me nervous, as well. Let's go!"

Quicker than she ever thought she would be able to move, Lily scrambled down the ladder ahead of James, who was right on her heels. Once they were safely halfway down the ladder, James shut the door to the outside of the train with a bang.

At the bottom, Lily collapsed against one of the walls, shivery and cold now that it was all over.

"Hey, Lily!" James sat down next to her, took off his glasses and wiped them on his sweater. It was an endearingly habitual movement of his. "You did it! You really did it! That was… that was amazing!"

A shaky chuckle escaped her lips. "I did, didn't I? Let's just hope it works until Dumbledore and some of the other staff get here."

Jerkily, the train started motion again. Lily held on to the wall for a moment, and then laughed at her own jumpiness.

"Let's go find the rest of the blokes and check in with the other prefects," James suggested, pushing himself off the wall and then offering her a hand up. "The worst of it's over. We've just got to deal with the aftermath now."

"Right," Lily agreed, and despite of herself, accepted James's hand up. "I think the first order of business will be damage control on Sirius and Peter. After we check up on Remus, which I guess doesn't make the whole Sirius and Peter thing the first order of business, after all."

James laughed. "I think Remus will be fine now that the high-pitched noise has stopped. He's sensitive to things like that."

Lily raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "We'd best start looking in with the first years. If I know Sirius, after the danger is gone, he's going to go start terrifying them with other things."

"Like what?" James asked, halfway insulted, but even more interested.

"Like… like last year, when he convinced them that the Sorting Ceremony was having to fit six marshmallows in your mouth while riding a dragon. Honestly! And he's just genuine enough to convince them of it, too," Lily said, trying to hide her amusement, but not quite succeeding.

"That was funny," James protested, and began to laugh. "The looks on their faces, Lily! Come on. Don't tell me you didn't think that was priceless."

"Well, it was funny," Lily admitted reluctantly. "Let's go."

Finding Sirius and Peter was, surprisingly enough, relatively easy. They were back in the car they had started in.

"What are you doing here?" James asked suspiciously. "I thought you would be elsewhere…"

"Like where?" Sirius asked, grinning from ear to ear. "I've got all year to make sure Alicia Denog's chest is still as large as ever."

James rolled his eyes heavenward and Lily blushed.

"Actually," Remus said, rubbing his forehead, "we were told to stay here."

"By who?" James asked.

"By me," said Professor Dumbledore from behind them. "I see that perhaps this working relationship won't be as painful for everyone involved as I had previously anticipated."

Sirius let out a hoot of laughter, Remus smiled shyly, and James chuckled.

It was then that Lily Evans realized that maybe she didn't dislike James Potter as much as she had thought.


End file.
